Bloomberg Calls for Action on Jobs

Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered a speech about job creation and the economy at Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Wednesday.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg repeatedly denies that he harbors any ambition of seeking the White House in 2012, but an economic speech Wednesday aggressively hyped by his aides appeared to aim for the national stage.

Bloomberg, the 68-year-old billionaire businessman who has served as the chief executive of the nation’s largest city for nearly nine years, chastised Washington for failing to do enough to stimulate the economy and help more people return to work. The mayor gently chided both Democrats and Republicans, bolstering his carefully crafted image as an independent, moderate, no-nonsense leader who rejects ideology and champions practical solutions.

“Put simply: When it comes to creating jobs, government hasn’t gotten the job done,” said Bloomberg, according to a copy of his remarks prepared for delivery that City Hall authorized for release as soon as the mayor began speaking.

“The central defining issue of the day is jobs, and that is what government at all levels must be focused on,” he said. “Washington and Albany are not working, and as a result, too many Americans are out of work, out of savings and out of patience.”

The text of the mayor’s speech offered many of the rhetorical flourishes of a campaign stump speech, but the mayor’s dry delivery appeared to leave many in the audience fidgety. More than half way through the speech, the mayor hadn’t received any applause.

While the mayor didn’t take any direct shots at President Barack Obama, he suggested the current administration and others in Washington have done little to foster innovation in the American economy. The mayor recently said he believes Obama would stand to benefit from better advisers, specifically aides with a business background.

“Unfortunately, very little of the stimulus package passed in Washington promotes innovation. Very little of the health care bill passed in Washington promotes innovation,” he said. “And the Obama administration will have to be very careful to make sure that the financial services bill passed this year doesn’t hinder innovation.”

The mayor praised the White House and the Republicans in Congress for brokering a deal to extend tax cuts and unemployment benefits. The agreement is “proof that bi-partisanship really is possible” in Washington, he said. “But this cannot be the end of bi-partisanship — it must be the beginning,” he said. “Cutting taxes is easy enough — cutting the deficit is another story.” The speech gave shout outs to a slew of former presidents, including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

In the speech, delivered at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the mayor touted New York City’s resurgent economy as an example of what could should be done around the country. The city’s economy has grown twice as fast as the country’s and eight times as fast as the rest of New York, he said.

Bloomberg said his administration will open 10 new “Workforce One Express Centers” across the city to focus exclusively on screening and matching jobseekers to jobs. The city’s goal is to increase job placement to 35,000 in 2011 and to 40,000 in 2012, he said.

“Hard-working New Yorkers inspire me every day — and I believe in the American work ethic and the American Dream more than ever,” the mayor concluded. “We are strong as a nation and resolved as a people…and if we act and seize this moment, we can continue to be the greatest country ever brought forth in this world.”

Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson, who served as a top adviser to Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential campaign, said it would be wrong for the public to interpret the speech as a reflection of the mayor’s perceived interest in the Oval Office. The mayor flirted with the possibility of running for president in 2008 but ultimately chose not to launch a bid.

“One can influence the national debate without harboring presidential ambitions,” Wolfson said.

In a television interview this summer, the mayor ruled out the possibility of running for president. But Bloomberg’s supporters continue to fuel speculation. But a New York magazine cover story this fall quoted a Bloomberg confidant saying, “Oh, he’s more than thinking about it. He’s full-bore, all-out exploring it.”

Around the same time Fox Business reported that Bloomberg, in private conversations with banking executives, did not rule out the possibility of a 2012 bid. Fox Business quoted a person close to the mayor saying, “Privately he’s telling people that if the opportunity arose and the situation was right, that yes he would consider it.”

When The Wall Street Journal recently asked Bloomberg whether there might be any truth to these reports, the mayor lost his patience. “Oh, that’s ridiculous…Come on!” he replied, as annoyance flashed across his face. “I told you 1,000 times — I’m not running for office.”